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Sean Maher: Two weeks left to make a difference

Posted:
12/09/2013 12:29:48 PM MST

Updated:
12/09/2013 12:39:48 PM MST

When the dust settles after the 2013 holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will have spent over $600 billion on gifts for their loved ones and themselves. They also tell us that most of that spending will occur in the next two weeks, and the big winners will be national chain stores and internet retailers.

The growing dominance of big box stores and online shopping is a reality that is not going away. The point of this column is not to make you feel guilty or pledge to boycott chain retailers. There are many items like iPads and PlayStations that you just cannot buy from local merchants no matter how much you might want to. I totally get that, and you might bump into me at Target or the Apple Store between now and Christmas.

But there are thousands of items that you can buy from independent retailers and there are some good reasons to make the extra effort to shop local.

A study done by Civic Economics looked at the impact of shopping choices on local economies. The results are powerful and worth considering as you head into the home stretch of the holiday season.

The research shows that for every $100 spent in a local, independent bookstore, $45 stays in the local economy to keep benefiting the community. The same $100 spent at Barnes & Noble leaves just $13 in the community. Spending $100 online at Amazon leaves zero dollars in the local economy. Zero!

Why does this matter? You don't have to be an economist to figure out that we all benefit when more of our money stays local to keep circulating among our friends and neighbors.

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Think about it. Small businesses in Boulder hire local accountants, lawyers and graphic designers. They use their profits to buy houses, furniture and go out to dinner here in Boulder. All of this economic activity generates tax revenue that pays for roads, open space and libraries. Local businesses are also far more likely to support local nonprofits and schools.

On the other hand, a national retailer takes almost 90 percent of your money out of our local market to support the economy of whatever city it calls home. Shopping at Home Depot helps Atlanta far more than Boulder. Seattle benefits from every dollar you spend with Amazon, while your hometown gains absolutely nothing.

Again, my goal here is not to make you feel guilty but to make you think. As you shop over the next two weeks, think about heading to McGuckin Hardware before Home Depot. Consider a gift basket from Cured before you get online and order one from Harry and David. Stroll through the Boulder Bookstore before you go to Barnes & Noble or log onto Amazon.

And if you have items on your gift list like an iPad or an Xbox, make a point buy them in Boulder instead of driving down the turnpike to Cherry Creek or Park Meadows.

After all, why pay sales taxes to build trails and buy library books for Denver when we need those things here in Boulder?

So, with just over two weeks until Christmas, think about shopping small and shopping local. If we all direct just a third of our holiday shopping dollars to local stores, our entire community will have a happier and healthier 2014.

Sean Maher is the executive director of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District. Views expressed in this column are his own and do not reflect the position of the Business Improvement District or Downtown Boulder Inc. He can be reached at sean@dbi.org.

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